The Allahabad High Court on Monday issued various directions to the bar Associations of Uttar Pradesh and to the state Government for framing the scheme of disbursing aid to the needy advocates and their clerks who are facing severe difficulty amid COVID-19 lockdown.
Acting upon a Suo Moto PIL titled as “In Re – Assistance To The Needy Advocates And Registered Advocate Clerks” the division bench comprising of Chief Justice Govind Mathur & Justice Siddharth Verma observed that the Trustees Committee created under the U.P. Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1974 has yet not decided the steps which are required to be taken to provide assistance to the members of the fund. A fact also brought to the notice of Court that the aid as per the aforesaid law has not been given even to the widows of the Advocates from last several years.
The bench observed that the delay in deciding claims by the Trustees Committee is quite serious and virtually that frustrates the very purpose creating a statutory fund. The Committee is a custodian of a charitable trust and that should have acted upon with all diligence on receiving the request for disbursement of assistance to the members of the fund or their heir. As a matter of fact main financial source of the fund is day to day assistance given by the Advocates. The fund is meant to support its members as and when occasion arises with lightening speed.
The bench further observed that the need of assistance that may be extended to the registered Advocate Clerks. The Allahabad High Court Rules prescribe a complete procedure for their registration and their duties towards office of the court. The provisions indicate a significant role of registered Advocate Clerks in justice delivery system. The provisions mainly relate to registration of Advocate Clerks, their duties in office of the court and the cancellation of registration in certain eventualities. No provision however, is available to regulate their service conditions and rightly so as they are essentially in employment of the Advocates.
“True it is, Advocate Clerks are not in employment of the Court, but utility of their functioning in Court office is well established and well recognized. The service rendered by the Advocate Clerks is not a service to an individual but to the system by a class of professionals attached with Advocates” said the bench.
It was noted by the Bench that many states such as Kerala, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh & Assam have enacted laws for welfare of advocates’ Clerks. The bench took note of the fact that in day to day functioning that an Advocate’s Clerk plays a vital role in the court management, though he is not an employee of the court. The profession of the Advocates’ Clerks, thus, certainly deserves to be recognized in line of the other profession like Advocates, Chartered Accountants, Doctors, Nursing, etc. Though that is an issue within the domain of the State legislature, the bench was of the view that there must be some statutory provisions to regulate service conditions of the registered Advocates’ Clerks.
After hearing all the concerned parties the division bench of Allahabad High Court issued following directions:-
- The Trustees Committee constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1974 shall meet at earliest to have a scheme to provide assistance to the needy Advocates, who are deleteriously affected due to COVID-19 lockdown. After having the scheme, the Trustees Committee shall also ensure release of fund to all the court attached recognized Bar Associations in the State of Uttar Pradesh with specific direction to the Associations to further disburse the aid to members of the fund in accordance with the scheme so enacted.
- The Trustees Committee is further directed to consider and decide all the applications pending before it for disbursement of aid to the widows of Advocates and also to the other claimants. Such applications are required to be considered and decided by the Trustees Committee within a period of one month from today.
- As per its decision, the Bar Council of India, New Delhi shall release the funds to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh at earliest, as far as possible on or before 27th April, 2020. The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh in the meanwhile, shall frame a scheme to disburse assistance to the needy Advocates through the court attached Bar Associations. The State Bar Council shall ensure that the funds be disbursed fairly, uniformally and with all caution to prevent their misutilization. The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh shall issue necessary directions to all the court attached Bar Associations to maintain complete account of the amount released to them for disbursement or use of that for the welfare of the needy Advocates.
- The Awadh Bar Association, Lucknow has already framed a complete scheme for extending help to the needy Advocates. The Association shall make its best efforts to execute the scheme at earliest as far as possible within a period of one week from today.
- The Allahabad High Court Bar Association appears to have sufficient funds with it but due to certain peculiar circumstances it is not in position to extend its helping hand to the needy members forthwith. To meet this eventuality, we deem it appropriate to constitute a Monitoring Committee.
- The Monitoring Committee shall frame a complete scheme for disbursement of aid to the needy members of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association. The Monitoring Committee is required to ensure disbursement of aid to the needy Advocates at Allahabad on or before 25th April, 2020. While doing so it will ensure fair and uniform grant of aid and shall also maintain complete account of that.
- The Registrar General of this Court is directed to initiate the process of registering Advocate Clerks in accordance with the Allahabad High Court Advocates Clerks (Registration of Advocates Clerks) Rules, 1997 forthwith.
- The bench requested the designated Senior Advocates and the Advocates in the State of Uttar Pradesh having adequate resources to assist the Bar Associations to which they are members for extending a helping hand to the Advocate Clerks.
- The bench requested the State Government to examine viability to have an enactment for welfare of the registered Advocate Clerks working in different courts in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
The Court directed to list the case on 5th of May, 2020 for further orders.
-India Legal Bureau